The use of computer networks to store data and provide information to users is increasingly common. A microcosm of this phenomenon can be seen in the prevalence of the Internet. The internet is used to distribute a wide variety of content to users, including video, audio, text, images etc. Each of these types of content may, in turn, be distributed in a wide variety of formats. These various types of content may be themselves packaged in a variety of payload formats and delivered via a whole host of application and transmission protocols.
As the general populous becomes more mobile, however, it is increasingly desired to access this content regardless of location. Thus, over the past few years there has been a marked proliferation of personalized communication devices such as mobile phones, laptop computers, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). The popularity of these devices is based in no small part on their ability to access a wide variety of information, regardless of location, by virtue of wireless communication.
Consequently, wireless communication systems are utilized to provide an ever growing portion of the communications capacity currently available to users, despite the additional technological impediments faced in implementing a wireless communication system, as compared to a wireline system. Though a whole host of issues crops up in wireless communication systems, an often overlooked issue is how of the mobility of these various devices to which content is being delivered may affect the content that is actually delivered to the device, or a content provider's ability to restrict, or deliver, certain content based on the location of the device.
For example, in many cases a local sports team may be “blacked out” in its home city or surrounding area, such that the inhabitants of the home teams metropolitan area are encouraged to go to the stadium to see the game. Thus, it is desired that no one in a certain geographical area be able to view the game. In certain wireline or wireless system (e.g. television or radio) this is not so problematic, the local affiliates do not broadcast the game, and stations in other areas which are broadcasting the game are limited by the geographical limitations of their respective broadcast mediums. In the Internet space an IP address may be correlated with a location within a degree of certainty, for example content deliverers on the Internet have an IP map and they know that if an IP address is within a certain geographical area. If a piece of requested content is restricted with respect to a determined location, access to the content will be denied. Consequently, the geographical area which is to be “blacked out” is kept from receiving a broadcast of the sporting event.
As can be seen, however, certain issues may present themselves with respect to a similar situation in the context of a content delivery system where content can be delivered from a variety of disparate or geographically distant sources. For example, suppose a user at a mobile device can request content from one or more servers which are capable of providing content from disparate source located in one or more geographical regions. In this case, a user may request a broadcast of a television station located in a different geographical area on which the sporting event is being televised and thus may view the sporting event even though the user may be located in the geographical area in which the sporting event is supposed to be “blacked out”.
In addition to restriction of content delivered to users of these mobile devices, it may also be desired to interact (e.g. deliver certain content) to these device based on their location as well. For example, informing a user of a mobile device of inclement weather when the device is located in a certain area, or delivering local affiliate stations to a device based on the location of the device.
Thus, a need exists for content delivery systems which can perform interaction based on the location of the various devices to which content may be delivered.